College Football's Week One Pops and Drops

Finally the sun has gone down on the first week of college football—and with it the ACC, the Big East, and Phil Fulmer’s tenure at Tennessee.

That means it’s time once again to look at the POPS and DROPS for the week.

With all due respect to the AP and USA Today polls, here is my list of Week 1 POPS and DROPS.

POPS

USC pops up to No. 1. They have a quarterback who apparently has a very good knee and plenty of mobility.  Even if that O-line breaks down every now and then, Sanchez can still move around and make a play.  As for the O-line, that left side is absolutely solid with O’Dowd, Byers, and Brown.  As for the defense, any questions?  I didn’t think so.

Florida pops to No. 2.  I would have put them in a tie for No. 1, but I really think that Hawaii minus Colt Brennan and his best replacement didn’t really test the Gators.  But with Percy Harvin coming back healthy and with a Heisman quarterback, they’re good at No. 2.

LSU pops to No. 3.  I know they played an FCS squad, but Appy State has positively been the best of FCS/I-AA for several years and may be even better than the team that upset the Wolverines at the Big House last year.  Les is more—Miles that is.

Texas pops to No. 7 after hanging 52 on Florida Atlantic.  Granted, it wasn’t Florida State or USF, but I think the Longhorns are long overdue to get back into contention for the Big 12 Championship.

Auburn pops to No. 9 with a 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe.  It wasn't a great win, but still a good, solid one.  However, can they beat the two SEC teams above them, Florida and LSU?

Bama pops to No. 11.  They had an impressive showing against an unimpressive Clemson.

Utah pops to No. 12.  Though they held on to beat Michigan at the Big House, expect a lot more from this team in the weeks to come.  Consider them armed and very dangerous.

Oregon pops up to No. 17 after shutting down Jake Locker and U-Dub, 44-10.

USF pops to No. 18 with a resounding 56-7 win over Tennessee-Martin.

Fresno State pops to No. 19.  The Bulldogs flew all the way to the East Coast to bite the Scarlet Knights in the butt, 27-7.  "Anybody, anytime, anywhere"—Pat Hill proved he’s a man of his word.

Penn State pops a notch at No. 21 with a 66-10 pasting of a school they located by GPS, Coastal Carolina.  Next year, I hear Joe Pa plans to open up against the University of Phoenix.  The first 1,000 fans will receive an honorary Internet Degree.

Wake Forest pops to No. 22.  I know it’s the ACC, but at least one of their teams deserves some love with a 41-13 win over Baylor.

Cal pops up into the Top 25 at No. 23 with a 38-31 win over Michigan, but they will drop out of the Top 25 if Jeff Tedford ever has to resort to Nate Longshore again.  Stick with Riley, Coach.  If he gets hurt, go to your third or fourth quarterback.

Arizona pops into the Top 25 at No. 24 with a very impressive 70-0 bouncing of Idaho.  Can it possibly be that this the year the other Stoops makes it over the hump?  I know it was Idaho, but with the new clock rules, any team that can put up 70 against an opponent has to be a scoring machine.  Last year, USC only put up 38 against Idaho at the Coliseum.

UCLA pops into the No. 25 spot, popping up from "written off as dead," with a 27-24 overtime win against formerly ranked Tennessee.  But after losing three more starting seniors, I don’t know if the Bruins have staying power.  However, I thought I would reward them for their effort.

Status Quo

For you fans from the SEC, that means "No Change."  Sorry, I just had to get that one in.  I promise, no more SEC digs.  Heck, I put three of your teams in the top 10.  What do you expect?

Oklahoma stays at No. 4.  Chattanooga, Choo-choo, all huff and no puff.

Kansas remains at No. 13.  40-10 over Florida International.  Ho-hum.

Texas Tech remains at No. 14.  Sorry, but I’m not impressed with a 49-24 win over Eastern Washington.  If it were U-Dub or Washington State, I would give the Red Raiders a boost.

BYU stays at No. 16 with a 41-17 victory over Northern Iowa.  Zzzzz.

DROPS

Georgia drops to No. 4 in a tie with Oklahoma.  They didn’t show me anything in their match with Georgia Southern.  Actually, that might be an excellent BCS Bowl game, Oklahoma vs. Georgia, but it won’t be the BCS Title match.

Ohio State drops to No. 6.  Who is Youngstown State anyway?  And who is Ohio State without the Remarkable Mr. Wells?  If he comes back 100 percent healthy, then this ranking can change, but they really have to crush Ohio next week.

Missouri drops to No. 8.  We were pretty sure the Tigers were a pussycat on defense, but after giving up 42 to Illinois, we’re positive.  You may win a BCS Bowl game with a great offense, but you won’t win the Title match without a defense.  So, you shouldn’t be there.  Meow!

West Virginia drops to No. 10.  How can you let a mediocre, lackluster FCS team put up more total yards and 21 points?  I don’t want to hear it.

Wisconsin drops to No. 15 with a much worse than expected 38-17 win over Akron.

Arizona State drops to No. 20 with a mere 30-13 handling of Northern Arizona.

Illinois drops to No. 25.  Giving up 52 points in their opener is not the way to impress this pollster. 

Clemson doesn’t drop—they plummet...right through the floor and out of the Top 25.  Reason: Scoreboard!

Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee all join Clemson on the outside looking in.

The final tally looks like this.

1-USC, 2-Florida, 3-LSU, 4-tie: Oklahoma, Georgia, 6-Ohio State, 7-Texas, 8-Missouri, 9-Auburn, 10-West Virginia

11-Alabama, 12-Utah, 13-Kansas, 14-Texas Tech, 15-Wisconsin, 16-BYU, 17-Oregon, 18-South Florida 19-Fresno State, 20-Arizona State

21-Penn State, 22-Wake Forest, 23-Cal, 24-Arizona, 25-tie: Illinois and UCLA